1. The Field of the Invention
The field of the present invention relates to a hauling device used in the various tasks of securing and transporting material such as lawn litter, including leaves, grass clippings, twigs, and trash, or other kinds of material which can be confined within the device and dragged along the ground by hand or by a mechanical device such as a tractor.
2. The Prior Art
Heretofore, the methods of securing and transporting lawn litter and other kinds of material have been generally crude or makeshift devices such as bags, boxes, and cans which have the disadvantages of being hard to fill, may require extreme physical strength to transport, and may rip when wet or sharp material is confined and dragged along the ground. Other kinds of hauling devices such as wagons, wheelbarrows, and trailers have the disadvantage of the loading surface being off the ground thereby requiring the operator to lift up the material to be loaded. Moreover, such devices demand a substantial financial investment and are bulky to store.
Various devices have been conceived which employ a tarpaulin, or a generally rectangular sheet of thin flexible material, with means to secure and haul the said types of materials therewith. The advantages of a tarpaulin device are the low cost of tarpaulin material, such as a sheet made of plastic coated fibers, strength, pliability, durability in out-of-doors use and collapsibility to facilitate storage in a small space when not in use. The following list of patents disclose inventions which fall into the category of hauling devices that lay flat on the ground to facilitate loading and that provide sides to secure the loaded material to facilitate hauling.
______________________________________ PATENT NO. PATENTEE ISSUE DATE ______________________________________ 2,974,971 Buck 3/14/61 3,355,187 Brindle 11/28/67 4,173,351 Hetland 11/06/79 ______________________________________
Buck's hauling device is comprised of a rectangular tarpaulin with three side panels and three straps attached to the main body. The straps extend beyond the hauling side and provide loops which hold a straight bar-like handle. A rope is threaded through hems provided along the three side panels. The rope ends extend from the hems on the handle side of the tarpaulin. When in use, the device is positioned flat on the ground with the side panels in a horizontal state. After material has been loaded, the operator pulls the rope ends to raise the side panels vertically to confine the material. The rope ends are provided with loops which are placed over the handle and the operator hauls the device by the handle. The disadvantage of this concept is that the operator may have difficulty raising the side panels which must be vertical to close up the gaps at the two rear corners. When pulling the rope ends, the device may not raise the side panels easily without vertical support and may tend to collapse. A further disadvantage is that the operator may have difficulty pulling the rope back through the hems to position the panels in a flat state after the device has been emptied. A further still disadvantage is that the Buck device would limit the bulk of material which may be confined due to the restrictive height reached by the side panels.
Brindle discloses a hauling device which comprises a tarpaulin with a hem along the rear edge. Enclosed within the rear hem are two rigid battens in tandem extending from the center of the tarpaulin to several inches beyond the side edges. The ends of a rope are threaded through hems along each side edge of the tarpaulin and secured to the extended batten ends. After material has been loaded, the operator folds the two batten ends together into a vertical position and ties them together, whereby a boat-like receptacle is provided at the rear of the device. The operator hauls the device by the rope at the opposite end. The primary disadvantage of this concept is the excessive friction point at the base of the battens when the device is hauled along the ground. With a heavy load in tow, the battens would tend to dig in and hang up over rough terrain, may cause damage to soft turf, and would quickly wear through the tarpaulin material over abrasive surfaces. Furthermore, this concept would make hauling a small load awkward wherein the vertical battens would fall forward without the support of a sizable bulk of material.
Hetland discloses a hauling device which comprises a sled-like vessel made of corrugated cardboard or such material with three fixed side panels and a fourth side panel which folds down to facilitate loading. A rope is secured around the fixed panels and loops beyond the folding panel. When material has been loaded, the operator lifts up and secures the folding panel and hauls the vessel by the loop of the rope. Although this concept can be produced at a low cost, one would question whether a device of cardboard construction could stand up in out-of-doors use, especially when used in wet conditons. the apparent disadvantage is that material at ground level may only be loaded easily onto the device from the folding side, whereas loading material from the other sides would require the operator to lift up the material over the side panels.
While the above listed patents provide a relatively inexpensive means of hauling material, each of the cited devices requires the operator to first secure the collected material by one means before the device may be hauled away by another means; which in turn, requires the operator to undo the securing means after the device has been emptied so that the device may be positioned in a flat state to facilitate loading more material.